<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR>G-7 says worst may be over for world economy
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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->Washington - Finance chiefs from the Group of Seven (G-7) powers said the global economy might be past the worst phase of the recession, although recovery was not yet assured.
They also pledged to make sure that big financial firms would be sound.
<TABLE width=200 align=left valign="top"><TBODY><TR><TD class=padr8><!-- Vodcast --><!-- Background Story --><STYLE type=text/css> #related .quote {background-color:#E7F7FF; padding:8px;margin:0px 0px 5px 0px;} #related .quote .headline {font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size:10px;font-weight:bold; border-bottom:3px double #007BFF; color:#036; text-transform:uppercase; padding-bottom:5px;} #related .quote .text {font-size:11px;color:#036;padding:5px 0px;} </STYLE>No recovery yet
'We are right to be somewhat encouraged, but we would be wrong to conclude that we are close to emerging from the darkness that descended on the global economy early last fall.'
United States Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>G-7 finance ministers and central bankers said late on Friday after a meeting that economic activity should begin to recover later this year. However, they said the outlook remained weak, and there was a risk that the global economy might still worsen.
'We are right to be somewhat encouraged, but we would be wrong to conclude that we are close to emerging from the darkness that descended on the global economy early last fall,' United States Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said in a statement.
It was a less dire assessment than what the G-7 finance officials delivered at their last gathering in February, when they warned that the severe downturn would persist through most of the year.
'Recent data suggests that the pace of decline in our economies has slowed, and some signs of stabilisation are emerging,' the G-7 said in a closing communique.
'We will continue to act, as needed, to restore lending, provide liquidity support, inject capital into financial institutions, protect savings and deposits, and address impaired assets. We reaffirm our commitment to take all necessary actions to ensure the soundness of systemically important institutions,' the statement said.
The finance ministers, however, did not put forward any sweeping new proposals but stressed the need for individual countries to carry through on commitments.
The task at hand is for individual countries to fulfil their pledges and for financial officials to keep up the pressure on each other, so that momentum is not lost.
'Implementation is the priority,' said French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde.
Japanese Finance Minister Kaoru Yosano said signs of a return to stability was 'an expression with a question mark'.
'But we understand that the G-7 statement has indirectly expressed the view that the worst may be possibly over for the world economy,' he added.
The G-7, which comprises the US, Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan, met a day before the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank begin their twice-yearly meetings.
The larger G-20 group, which includes emerging economies such as China and India, held a meeting after the G-7.
Mr Geithner said both groups had the same agenda. 'The agenda will be: What are we doing? Are we doing enough to help attenuate the risks in this recession, lay the foundation for an earlier recovery, lay the foundation for a more balanced, more sustainable recovery?'
The G-7 has been under growing pressure to speed up efforts to rid banks of bad assets that have constrained lending and plunged the global economy into its deepest recession since World War II.
The IMF, which has estimated that losses at financial institutions around the globe could exceed US$4 trillion (S$6.03 trillion), has urged rich nations to prioritise repairing the financial sector because the world economy cannot fully recover unless credit is flowing. Reuters, AP
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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->Washington - Finance chiefs from the Group of Seven (G-7) powers said the global economy might be past the worst phase of the recession, although recovery was not yet assured.
They also pledged to make sure that big financial firms would be sound.
<TABLE width=200 align=left valign="top"><TBODY><TR><TD class=padr8><!-- Vodcast --><!-- Background Story --><STYLE type=text/css> #related .quote {background-color:#E7F7FF; padding:8px;margin:0px 0px 5px 0px;} #related .quote .headline {font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size:10px;font-weight:bold; border-bottom:3px double #007BFF; color:#036; text-transform:uppercase; padding-bottom:5px;} #related .quote .text {font-size:11px;color:#036;padding:5px 0px;} </STYLE>No recovery yet
'We are right to be somewhat encouraged, but we would be wrong to conclude that we are close to emerging from the darkness that descended on the global economy early last fall.'
United States Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>G-7 finance ministers and central bankers said late on Friday after a meeting that economic activity should begin to recover later this year. However, they said the outlook remained weak, and there was a risk that the global economy might still worsen.
'We are right to be somewhat encouraged, but we would be wrong to conclude that we are close to emerging from the darkness that descended on the global economy early last fall,' United States Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said in a statement.
It was a less dire assessment than what the G-7 finance officials delivered at their last gathering in February, when they warned that the severe downturn would persist through most of the year.
'Recent data suggests that the pace of decline in our economies has slowed, and some signs of stabilisation are emerging,' the G-7 said in a closing communique.
'We will continue to act, as needed, to restore lending, provide liquidity support, inject capital into financial institutions, protect savings and deposits, and address impaired assets. We reaffirm our commitment to take all necessary actions to ensure the soundness of systemically important institutions,' the statement said.
The finance ministers, however, did not put forward any sweeping new proposals but stressed the need for individual countries to carry through on commitments.
The task at hand is for individual countries to fulfil their pledges and for financial officials to keep up the pressure on each other, so that momentum is not lost.
'Implementation is the priority,' said French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde.
Japanese Finance Minister Kaoru Yosano said signs of a return to stability was 'an expression with a question mark'.
'But we understand that the G-7 statement has indirectly expressed the view that the worst may be possibly over for the world economy,' he added.
The G-7, which comprises the US, Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan, met a day before the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank begin their twice-yearly meetings.
The larger G-20 group, which includes emerging economies such as China and India, held a meeting after the G-7.
Mr Geithner said both groups had the same agenda. 'The agenda will be: What are we doing? Are we doing enough to help attenuate the risks in this recession, lay the foundation for an earlier recovery, lay the foundation for a more balanced, more sustainable recovery?'
The G-7 has been under growing pressure to speed up efforts to rid banks of bad assets that have constrained lending and plunged the global economy into its deepest recession since World War II.
The IMF, which has estimated that losses at financial institutions around the globe could exceed US$4 trillion (S$6.03 trillion), has urged rich nations to prioritise repairing the financial sector because the world economy cannot fully recover unless credit is flowing. Reuters, AP
